Principal Investigator – North-South Research Programme (2022-2024)

Description: Osteoarthritis (OA), a joint disease characterised by progressive loss of articular cartilage in synovial joints, is the most prevalent of all musculoskeletal pathologies, affecting millions of people (10-12% of the adult population) worldwide with tremendous individual, healthcare, and socioeconomic costs. Repair of damaged cartilage tissue via tissue engineering is one of the most promising directions to preventing the onset of OA. A particularly promising approach for articular cartilage regeneration is to seed cells within a microfibre reinforced hydrogel composite and implant this construct into the injured joint. But the progress is limited due to extensive reliance on intuitive ‘trial and error’ experimental approaches which preclude elaborate parametric investigations due to time and cost limitations. Computational modelling is a valuable tool for quickly and robustly assisting the development of such optimised composite structures. Therefore, the current project aims to develop a validated computational framework to fabricate optimised composite constructs for cartilage tissue engineering. The Queens University Belfast (QUB) team will develop the computational optimisation framework based on microscale homogenization of the composite structures and then leverage this framework to design regenerative construct biomechanical properties mimetic of the native tissue. The Trinity College Dublin (TCD). team will provide experimental input to the modelling and then fabricate the optimised structures informed by the modelling, thereby validating the computational model. The developed optimised constructs will be assessed for their cartilage regeneration potential through in vitro studies. Collaborators: Dr Krishna Manda, Queens University Belfast. Funded by: Higher Education Authority